Brick package



Nov. 13, 1962 R. P. HEUER.'

BRICK PACKAGE Filed Aug. so. 19Go ,gage/f /l/euer BY W afm/M INVENTORATTORNEYS.

United States Patent f 3,063,767 BRICK PACKAGE Russell Pearce Heuer,Villanova, Pa., assigner to General Refractories Company, a corporationof Pennsyl- Vania Filed Aug. 30, 1960, Ser. No. 52,926 2 Claims. (Cl.S12- 31) My invention relates to refractory brick containing calcineddolomite and packages for such brick.

A purpose of my invention is to manufacture the said brick and to storethem before use in a manner to prevent deterioration of the brick.

A further purpose is to manufacture the said brick, pile the brick fortransport and/or storage on pallets, place on the pile a containerholding a hydrophilic agent and enclose the pallet and the hydrophilicagent container in a sealed enclosure of polyethylene sheet or othersuitable material.

Further purposes appear in the specication and in the claims.

In the drawings, I have cho-sen to illustrate a few only of the numerousembodiments in which the invention may appear, selecting the forms shownfrom the standpoints of convenience in illustration, satisfactoryoperation and clear demonstration of the principles involved.

FIGURE 1 is a perspective of a package according to the invention.

FIGURE 2 is an exploded perspective of the package of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a partial perspective View of the package of FIGURE 1 priorto the assembly and sealing of the end.

FIGURE 4 is a vertical section along the line 4 4 of FIGURE 1.

vFIGURE 5 is a perspective View of a modication of the invention.

Refractory brick comprised entirely of calcined dolomite bonded with taror mixtures of dolomite with calcined magnesite or other refractorymaterials have recently acquired considerable importance in the liningof socalled oxygen converters for making steel. These brick are made bymixing the properly grounded refractory materials with hot tar or pitch,pressing the brick into form, and cooling the same whereupon they areready for furnace use.

Unfortunately, in the prior art, such brick must be transported to thefurnace and placed into service as soon as manufactured. If they areexposed to the atmosphere under ordinary conditions for even a few daysthe dolomite is attacked by the atmosphere and the brick disintegrate orlose their brick-like properties.

To overcome this difficulty some furnace operators make the brick at thesite of the furnaces. They furthermore find it diicult to storesufiicient bricks before the furnace is ready for relining. The bricksare therefore made so that the manufacturer is finished just as thefurnace is shut down for relining. Frequently, the furnace operation isdelayed because the brick have not been made.

The present invention is intended to provide for the preservation ofbrick after manufacture for a period of several weeks or even months.This allows the brick to be made at a point remote from the furnace,stored at the site of manufacture if necessary, and after transport tothe site of the furnace, allows storage for subsequent use. The presentinvention permits sufficient time between manufacture and use to enablethe manufacture of brick in centrally located brick plants which are atconsiderable distance from the furnaces where the brick are used. Italso permits storage of the brick at the factory or at the 3,063,767Patented Nov. 13, 1962 furnace so that a suitable supply of brick isalways available.

Considering now the drawings in detail, a pallet 20 has beams 21 and 22which support a platform 23 of suitable size. An example of a suitablesize would be a 36 inch width by'a 48 inch length. Upon the upper side24 of the platform 23 rests a sheet of suitable gas impervious material25 such as polyethylene. A suitable sheet thickness for polyethylenewould be about 4 mils, but it should be understood that the thickness ofthe sheet would depend on the impervious qualities of the material aswell as the strength of the material.

A cardboard layer 26 suitably the size of the platform 23 is placed overthe impervious sheet 25 and aligned with the platform 23. On top of thecardboard, dolomite brick 27 are stacked in courses over the area of thecardboard 26. Any suitable number of courses of brick 27 can be arrangedin the pile of brick 28. A suitable height for a pile of dolomite brickwould be 18 inches. On top of the pile 28 and suitably centered is acontainer 30 supported by the brick at 31. The container has a bottom 31and a side wall 32. The top of the side wall 32 has configurations-33having a peak 34 and a valley 35. The purpose of this configuration willbe later explained. Inside the container is a hydrophilic material ordessicant 36 such as calcium chloride.

A longitudinal wrap 36 of the gas impervious material extends across thetop of the support 20 below the cardboard 26 at 37. The sheet followsthe contour of the cardboard 26 and pile 28 at the lower longitudinaledges 38 and 40 upward along the pile. The longitudinal wrap 36 prior toassembly consists of a rectangle having a width 362 in excess of theplatform length so that prior to end assembly the sheet extends beyondthe pile as shown at 41, best seen in FIGURE 3. The gas impervious sheetencloses the pile along the longitudinal sides at 42 and 43 and thenfollows the contour of the pile 28 at upper edges 44 and 45. The sheetoverlaps along the top 46 of the pile to` a suitable length, which canbe 2 inches, at 46. The sheet encloses the container 30 as well as thetop of the pile. The sheet is suitably sealed at 47 by the applicationof heat or by the application of a pressure sensitive tape over theseam.

lt will be seen that the sheet, in coming into contact with thecontainer 30 is supported at the peaks 34 so that the atmospheresurrounding the pile has access to the hydrophilic material 31 insidethe container through valley 3S. An end sheet 48 of rectangular form asseen in FIGURE 3 having a length 50 equal to the pile width and a height51 equal to the pile height is in contact with the pile 28 at the end52. After assembly, the extending portions of the longitudinal wrap 41follow the contour of the pile at sides 53 and 54 and edges 55 and 56along the end 52 of the pile, as seen in FIGURE 1. The envelope issealed at 57 by the application of heat or the use of a pressuresensitive tape.

Steel straps 6) extend around the sheet at 61 and 62 and are fastenedtogether at their ends 63 in a well known manner. It will be seen thatthe straps pass through the beams 21 and 22 of the pallet so that afork-lift truck or the like can by maneuvering pallet 20 control andsupport the entire package.

In one example of the application of the invention, a rectangular sheetof polyethylene 4 mils thick having dimensions 52 inches by 112 incheswas used as a longitudinal wrap 36'. The 52 inch dimension of thelongitudinal wrap was disposed along the 48 inch length of a 36 inch by48 inch platform so that the sheet projected over the edge of theplatform about 2 inches at each end at 41 prior to final assembly asshown in FIGURE 3. The 112 inch dimension extended along the 36 inchwidth of the platform andprojected over the edge of the platform about38 inches in each direction at 363 prior to folding along thelongitudinal Walls of `thepile at,38 and 40. When the longitudinal wrapwas folded into the position shown` in FIGURE 1, then ends ofthe wrapoverlapped Zinches at 46'. In this package the bricks Were piled 18inches high. A conventional lO inch pie plateV about inches in diameterwas used for the container 30 with about 1 pound of calcined chloride asa hydrophilic agent. The sheet consisted of polyethylene. The jointswere sealed by pressure sensitive tape 2 inches Wide. The end sheets 48were of polyethylene having dimensions of 18 inches by 36 inches. Thefold 41 was 2 inches wide.

It will be seen that the vertical faces of the pile can be suitablycovered with cardboard between the pile 28 and the impervious sheet forfurther mechanical protection.

While one form of polyethylene envelope is shown it should be understoodthat other forms within the scope of the invention can be used. Forexample, the polyethylene sheet could be made in the form of a bag 65,seamless except for a top opening as shown in FIGURE 5. The bag Would beplacedon the platform or pallet and the brick and hydrophilic materialplaced within. The pile and hydrophilic material would be enclosed bysealing the open end of the bag over the top of the brick pile at 65.

It is evident that although a platform in the form of a pallet suitablefor transport has been described in the above specification, a platformlother than a pallet may be used. This would include any flat structuresuiciently strong to support a brick pile which for instance could beutilized solely for storage only, and could consist of, for example, aflat board or metal sheet.

As a substitute for polyethylene, other gas impervious sheets suchastarred paper or the like may be used, but polyethylene is generallypreferred.

Other hydrophilic agents, such as silica gel, activated alumina and thelike may be used instead of calcium chloride. The calcium chloride isadvantageously priced and may be disposed of after use. Activatedalumina and other similar agents after saturation may be heated andrepeatedly used.

It will be evident that vapor-tight access openings or hand holes withsuitable covers and seals, as well known in the art of long termstorage, may be provided to permit removal and replacement of thedessicant Whenever required to maintain a low relative humidity in theatmosphere within the container.

It will also be evident that indicators for relative humidity, visiblefor example through vapor-tight transparent windows, as well known inthe art, will be employed Where desired to indicate when the dessicantshould be replaced or regenerated.

In view of my invention and disclosure, variations and modifications tomeet individual whim or particular need will doubtless become evident toothers skilled in the art, to obtain all or part of the benefits of myinvention without copying the structure shown, and I, therefore, claimall such insofar as they fall within the reasonable spirit and scope ofmy claims.

Having thus described my' invention what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

l. A package for storing and transporting refractory brick comprising apallet of the type adapted to be used with a fork lift apparatus, a pileof refractory brick containing calcined dolomite resting on andsupported by the pallet, a substantially gas impervious envelopesurrounding and enclosing the said pile of brick, a hydrophillic agentwithin the said envelope, a container holding the hydrophillic agent outof contact with the brick and in contact with the atmosphere within saidenvelope comprising a bottom, sides extending substantially verticallyfrom the bottom and having configuration at the top in the form ofperiodic peaks and valleys, whereby said envelope is supported at thepeaks and the atmosphere within the said envelope is free to move Withinsaid valleys, and straps surrounding and securing the said envelope andsaid pile to the said pallet.

2. A package for storing and transporting brick, comprising a pallet ofthe typeradapted to be used with a fork lift apparatus, a pile ofdolomitic refractory brick containing free lime resting on and supportedby the pallet, said refractory brick being subject to destructive attackby moisture in the atmosphere, a substantially gas impervious envelopesurrounding and enclosing the said pile and providing a barrier againstmoisture vapor transmis- References Cited in the file of this patentUNITED STATES PATENTS 2,247,617 Metz July l, 1941 2,283,867 '.FlosdorfMay 19, 1942 2,524,162 Chavannes et al Oct. 3, 1950 2,630,214 Reed Mar.3, 1953

